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Subdolus In reply to Rashkah [2011-08-11 21:53:22 +0000 UTC]

The best part was him getting angry when I tried to pick the rat up (with tongs) and readjust it so it was head first.

He'd constrict on it and refuse to let me have it, then would just toss it around for awhile, slither-circle it, strike and constrict again, and I swear the snake was playing. FINALLY, I got a grip on the nape of the rat's neck and held it nose to nose with the snake and *BAM*

Eaten.

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Rashkah In reply to Subdolus [2011-08-12 00:26:20 +0000 UTC]

That is just all sorts of adorable. I can picture it perfectly in my head.

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Subdolus In reply to Rashkah [2011-08-12 01:09:05 +0000 UTC]

Ball pythons have such adorable, smirky little snakefaces.

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Subdolus In reply to Kelenkenwithfangs [2011-08-11 14:56:27 +0000 UTC]

Mine will USUALLY head strike and eat right away, but every now and again it seems almost like he just wants to play with it a bit first.

He has mice tail first before, but the rats? He hasn't figured out how to bend the legs so he can fit it all into his mouth.

By the end of this one, every part of that rat was dripping with snake spit EXCEPT for the head.

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Subdolus In reply to livinlovindude [2011-08-11 14:55:11 +0000 UTC]

It would have been a rather boring one. He just kept biting it, sitting there, letting it go, and keeping it half-coiled while he rubbed his face either over it or over the side of his feeding bin.

I get the distinct feeling that he was just playing, because I handed that rat to him head first several times and he'd always knock it around or throw it around to chase it.

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livinlovindude In reply to Subdolus [2011-08-12 03:15:00 +0000 UTC]

ah, my snake does that too sometimes. well, I couldn't make pics of videos of her since snakes aren't allowed in the dorm. I kinda miss her now. She's a reticulated Python, oh, I haven't ask what species is your snake? Well, from what I can guess, that's a Burmese Python, right?

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Subdolus In reply to livinlovindude [2011-08-12 05:12:25 +0000 UTC]

Nah, I haven't got the space to house a species that could easily top 20 feet at adulthood.
Retics and burmese pythons are adorable when small, but at 15-28 feet (depending on which it is) at maturity and with a lifespan of 30+ years, they're just not really something an average person can handle long term.

Mine is just a run of the mill ball python; he was from a snake keeper/breeder that my spouse works with. That guy got him from a family that bought him from a pet store "for the kids", and they had no idea how to take care of one. He was kept in a hideless fish tank in a busy room and manhandled (in addition to being picked up by the back of the neck) and when he started getting snappy and hissy they decided they didn't want him anymore.

The guy we got him from had been trying to give him away for months and nobody would take him because he was skittish, prone to striking (even at glass) and 'mean'. I've not had one incident with him, he let me hold him the day we went to pick him up without any issues, which surprised the guy who was holding onto him as the snake had bitten him twice that day.

He's still VERY head shy, but that's common for the species, and it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. I can pet and touch his head/jaw now if I move very slowly and deliberately. If I hadn't seen him striking at glass and at the guy we got him from I'd never, EVER have believed that this snake was supposedly a skittish biter.

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livinlovindude In reply to Subdolus [2011-08-12 16:35:06 +0000 UTC]

Ah, I know the type, I remember taking care of two retics back home, well, since we live far off from the urban areas and Snakes are quite common in the Philippines, it was june I think and we discovered a litter of baby snakes (5 of them in total or 8 eggs, three were duds) up in the storage room, so I decided to keep them until they are mature enough to fend for themselves. I had two favorites,one was very cooperative, she let me handle her with ease while the other one was the complete opoosite the male was very aggressive and spirited. I kept the entire little for about 8 months and set them back in the wild afterwards. but I did keep my fave one.

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Subdolus In reply to livinlovindude [2011-08-12 17:34:29 +0000 UTC]

In the US most of them end up either "let go" (which causes massive problems in ecosystems, especially the Everglades in Florida, where they can survive, or they just die in colder climates) or owners try to sell them or give them to zoos (which don't generally want them due to over supply) once they get past the 10-15ft mark and their owners find that secure caging is expensive, feeding is expensive, and the snake can no longer be safely handled by one person.


It's a matter, mostly, of "Awww what a cute baby snake!" and them not thinking ahead to realize that that adorable baby snake will turn into something much, much larger and potentially dangerous.

Red tail boas are so common in pet stores here, and they're sold as roughly 1-2ft long babies; most who buy them don't realize that that snake, as an adult, will be around 10 feet long and 50+ lb in weight. I see so many ads on the local craigslist for boas and pythons 6 feet and over that were bought as "OMG COOL SNAKE" impulse buys and when the owner realized that this was a large, potentially dangerous animal, they wanted it GONE. :\

Personally, I wouldn't want to keep a snake much larger than a carpet python or a blood python; if it's not something I can safely handle by myself, and without the aid of someone else, it's not something I would feel comfortable with keeping.

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livinlovindude In reply to Subdolus [2011-08-13 03:51:29 +0000 UTC]

ah, my oldest snake is around 17 feet in length by now, its different from the one I mentioned, I found this one under the refrigerator when I was around 5 or 6 years old. same species though, retic.

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